Frédéric Chopin

Waltzes

Chopin's Waltzes are full of fun and sparkle with catchy rhythms and fine tunes. They were mostly written for his pupils and are not of great difficulty although they do call for quick fingerwork and, like all Chopin's music, deeply expressive playing. FOREWORDChopin's Waltzes are full of fun and sparkle with catchy rhythms and fine tunes. They were mostly written for his pupils and are not of great difficulty although they do call for quick fingerwork and like all Chopin's music, deeply expressive playing. Much editorial amendment has been made to Chopin's music, mainly because of his reluctance to make fair copies of his works. He entrusted a lot of this to Julian Fontana, a personal friend, who even went so far as to imitate Chopin's handwriting. After his death, Chopin's family asked Julian Fontana to examine all the unpublished music and arrange for it to be generally available. This was contrary to Chopin's wish, expressed on his deathbed, that all his unpublished music should be destroyed. Fontana's edition appeared in 1855 and Chopin's autographed manuscripts were destroyed. This led to suspicions that Fontana had made changes. However, in the absence of the originals, the Fontana version remains of great importance and the doubts cannot be confirmed. He also claimed to include some of the composer's revisions in his edition. Chopin's Waltzes are a wonderful collection which will continue to give much pleasure to both listener and performer. Colin Mawby